


Close Encounters of the Weird Kind

by moon_opals



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: AU, Crossover, Drinking to Cope, Gen, Multiverse Travels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-01 04:26:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15766572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon_opals/pseuds/moon_opals
Summary: Ten years of isolation on the moon would drive a man mad. It was a good thing Della only spent several months instead.For nine years and some months, a mercurial cosmic storm was her GPS system.





	Close Encounters of the Weird Kind

“Cosmic storm?” Her companion sipped from his crinkly, dented metal cup, “And you flew right into it? Completely unprecedented?”

Della gripped the cup’s twin, glaring into the unusual substance her companion had poured. Was it coffee? Juice? Dirty water? He told her not think about it.

Her wary glance studied his features for any signs of deception. There were none. His weathered expression was transfixed on the omnipresent cosmic cloud flickering in their center as a mock fire.

He’d borrowed some mass from its greater parent currently swarming her rocket. They were going to be on the asteroid for some time. 

“Depends on your perspective.” She gulped the substance down, throat twisting at its unusual taste.

It was neither too sweet, too salty, or too spicy. Whatever it was - it was a sticky warm, and made her tongue bubble in ecstasy. After blinking curiously at her empty cup, she returned his steady gaze.

“A peculiar taste.” He smirked, “Its healing properties are undisputed.”

Her questions halted at her knuckles.

Rampant bruising and keloid scars receded into her skin. Bit by bit her feathers reverted to their original, unblemished smoothness. A sputtering guffaw jumped out of her mouth, and she rocked back, snapping her free hand on her knee.

“Wow!” She rolled forward on the rock, “It really does work. Is this - what, Demogorgon?”

His weak smirk strengthened. His back straightened, “That it is! I didn’t think anyone else would know of the dimension. An old mage gave me a bottle of the stuff, and it didn’t seem right to drink it alone.” He pulled out a purple glass bottle and winked, “Glad to have found a person to share it with.”

“Happy to please.” She grinned into the charred cosmic fire, “My uncle and I visited the Demogorgon dimension years ago, brother and cousin included.”

“I know of someone whose interests circulated around money.” He mused, “Get rich quick schemes, gambling, ah, he would’ve loved the gambling dimension.”

A ghost of a smile plagued her lips, “Uncle Scrooge loathed gambling and get rich quick schemes.” Shaking her head, she flattened her palms on the stone she sat on, “If he only knew what his girl was up to.”

Uncomfortable gaps were filled with casual silences as they reminisced of families left behind. Her companion’s brown eyes gleamed in the fire’s dark light and asked, “Your family visited Demogorgon?”

“Donald - my brother didn’t want to go, and our cousin bailed last minute.” A chuckle accompanied her memory, and she glanced at her feet, “Uncle Scrooge dragged him by the ankle, and at the end, we had a good time. Was caught in a two month long time loop.”

His unusual hoarse, guttural, and yet quiet laughter soothed her. She hadn’t realize how much time had passed since she'd spoken to another sentient being.

“He…I mean,” he took a solid breath, “my brother would’ve a conned a way out of it, somehow, someway.” Swishing his drink, he glared into the ruined metal, “Or that’s what I think, call it twin intuition…not that I….,” his thoughtless grin crinkled unsteadily.

“Donald’s my twin.” She said softly, suddenly unable to look at him, “He didn’t want me to take the rocket.”

“And mine didn’t want me to attend college.” He sipped his drink to hide his grimace, “I showed him. I may not have attended my dream school, but I still did exceptionally well.”

“Ah…so, a twin?”

“A twin.”

Della chuckled, “Well, in my case he was right.” Her shoulders slumped. Above blistering white stars, hotter and brighter than she had ever seen on her Earth, winked countlessly at her - teasing them with their short reach distance, “I shouldn’t have gotten on that rocket.”

A watery sigh tested her resolve. He stared ahead, beyond her, into the far reaches of the multiverse where multiple dimensions awaited them.

“If it’s worth anything, I’m glad you got on that rocket.”

Confusion drew before understanding parted, and a weak laugh broke free, “Oh, it’s fine. This cosmic storm is more of a pest than a life ruining disaster these days.”

A great portion of the storm’s mass scattered across the multiverse, some settling in her original dimension. She had yet to discover this portion’s reasoning, now repurposed as their darkly lit fire.

“Still, you didn’t have to.” His extended hand disturbed her brooding. Glancing down, saw the open appendage, and and move forward. Each six digit curled around her smaller grip, “Thank you.”

A smile tore through her pain and regret. She returned his grasp, “It was a pleasure.”

If this was what the cosmos considered an apology, Della was thankful.

**Author's Note:**

> Give me my Stanford Pines/Della Duck crossover meeting or give me death.


End file.
